Nourishing Crockpot Rice

Nourishing crockpot rice is an easy way to cook rice.  I am forever burning rice. I hate cooking it…I really always burn it. It is so sad to admit that, but there it is. I burn rice…period. So I kind of got this idea to try cooking it in the crockpot, because I never burn anything in there. I figured I’d give it a try and the most I’d lose was two pounds of rice. So I got busy and am happy to report that it turned out fantastic!! Here’s what I did–remember, I cook the Nourishing Traditions way, so keep that in mind!

I now LOVE making rice.  While it’s not something currently on our diet (remember, we’ve gone 100% grain free for the next 4 weeks).  When we start allowing some gluten free grains back into our diet, rice will be one of them.  Even when we add it back, it will still be only an occasional indulgence. But rice is an easy and great budget stretching basic and cooking it in the crockpot makes it even easier.  I was just so easy and I DIDN’T BURN IT…LOL!

[gmc_recipe 754]

New Year, New Leaf

Sorry to have disappeared for the last couple of weeks. We were out of town for Christmas/New Year’s holidays and while gone, I had a fun trip to the ER. Turns out that I had a bad sinus infection and bronchitis. That hung around for about 2 weeks. I’m finally on the mend, just the annoying cough has hung on, but eve it is better. I hope that you all had a fantastic Christmas and that your New Year is turning out to be wonderful.

It’s a New Year, and like many other people, I’m turning over a new leaf and making some changes in my life. It wasn’t just because of the the New Year, I wanted to wait until after all the temptations from the holidays were past before starting to make changes. So here it is, the beginning of 2013 and we as a family are making some major dietary changes. My husband and I are both over weight. While our diet wasn’t too bad, we ate pretty well most of the time, we had slowly slipped back into some bad habits. Mostly going out to eat and eating convenience foods. So after being encouraged to read the book, Wheat Belly, we have decided to cut out all grains from our diet.  This is something we’ve been talking about doing for a while and the book just reinforced that desire.  Not only are we cutting out all grains, but we are also cutting out sugar and processed foods.

How It’s Going To Go

For the first 4 weeks, we are going to be really strict on the diet, and then after that we will start allowing in SMALL amounts of gluten free grains.  Small amounts will be probably 1 time a week or less.  As for sugar, unless it’s sweetened with stevia or honey, I will avoid it and even honey sweetened foods will be limited (stevia will be used as the main sweetener–which is what I already do).  As for the convenience foods, I’ve cooked from scratch mostly for the last 10 years so it’s really not going to be that big of a deal.

To make things even easier during this first 4 weeks, I’ve created a simple repetitive menu that is easy to create (no thinking), with many items that can be prepared ahead of time, and is full of meals (slightly altered) that my family already loves.  Here is the menu:

Breakfasts (as you can see, my husband is not a fan of fruit in the morning):

1. egg muffins with sausage patties (homemade sausage)
2. berry smoothies (for boys and I) and egg muffins for husband
3. egg muffins with sausage patties (homemade sausage)
4. fruit salad (for boys and I and egg muffins for husband
5. fruit salad (for boys and I and egg muffins for husband
6. egg muffins made with veggies
7. berry smoothies (for boys and I) and egg muffins for husband

Lunches:

1. spaghetti with meat sauce and zucchini “noodles”
2. hamburger patties on a bed of salad
3. tuna salad with veggie sticks
4. mini quiches (egg muffins with broccoli and chicken)
5. berry smoothies and salad
6. veggie plate/salad
7. veggie plate/salad

Dinners:

1. taco salad
2. meat loaf with 2 veggie sides
3. chicken enchiladas (made with cabbage leaves) with 2 veggie sides
4. chicken stir-fry
5. Salmon patties with 2 veggie sides
6. egg and sausage scramble (homemade sausage
7. Big salad meal

Snacks & Beverages:

Snacks will consist of a limited amount of nuts and seeds, veggies & dip (homemade), cheese, hard boiled eggs, limited fruit, and some meats.

Beverages will be mostly water, but will allow some tea and milk.

The Nitty Gritty

Last year, I was able to lose about 25 pounds,  Went from 209 to 185 by eating low carb.  I was happy with that, but I reached a plateau and nothing I did would knock me off of it.  I flat stopped losing weight.  I upped my exercise, ate less, and still nothing would work.  At that point I got frustrated and went back to our normal diet.  The weight came back (and then some!).  By the weeks before Christmas 2012, I had ballooned up to 225.  YIKES!  That was about 2 weeks before Christmas.  Between then and now, I’m down to 205.6.  The only change being that I cut back how much I was eating and was sick for 2 weeks.  The majority of the weight loss was due to the illness.  But still, I have lost 20 pounds in about a month.

To make weight loss even harder, I’m having issues with my hormones.  I’ve reached perimenopause and my periods and hormones are severely out of whack.  I’ve started taking progesterone cream, along with red raspberry leaves, maca, and vitex.  Not to mention that I’m taking several other supplements which include a good food based vitamin and will begin taking fermented cod liver oil/butter oil blend as soon as it arrives.

So staring out with these dietary changes, I do have some issues working against me.  But I’m not going to let that get me down.  I have 65-75 pounds to lose to get to my goal weight of 130-140.  I’m not trying to get down to a certain size, I’m more concerned with getting to a healthy weight.  We officially started last night on the diet with this yummy venison taco salad:

More than just diet, I kind of fell off the exercise bandwagon.  I will also begin walking again to help encourage weight loss and overall health.

What to Expect

Over the next few months, I will begin to share my weight loss journey here on the blog.  I won’t let the blog become over run with diet posts though.  The focus will still be on real food, natural living, and frugality.  But I do plan on sharing my progress each Monday and occasionally at other times.  I will definitely be sharing recipes I’ve created along this journey, as well as other things I may try.  2013 promises to be a beautiful year and I have lots of stuff planned for the coming months.  In fact February I will begin a series here at Real Food Real Frugal where I will make the big switch from purchased cleaners and hygine products to 100% home made.  I’ll be running a challenge and be sharing some recipes.  Ought to be fun and I’d love for y’all to join me!  So start getting prepared for that.

Jalapeno Sweet Potato Soup

It’s getting that time of year here in Texas where things are finally starting to cool off and I start craving soup! It’s also the time of year when sweet potatoes are in abundance and can be found at really great prices. But as I’ve stated before if my recipe for Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes, I REALLY am not a big fan of sweet potatoes.  There are really only a handful of sweet potato recipes that I like.  This recipe for Jalapeno Sweet Potato Soup is actually one of my favorite ways to each sweet potatoes.  This soup is a real favorite around here! It’s creamy, sweet and smokey with just a hint of hotness.

I first discovered this recipe at a local deli and just fell in love with it.  I was lucky enough to be able to get the recipe and have updated it to adjust it to my family’s likes and to make it a bit more healthy.  Now for people who think this is an odd combination, don’t let that stop you from trying it. It is delicious!  It’s not too spicy and the “hotness” can always be adjusted by using less jalapenos or even by using the type of jalapenos that aren’t hot.  Enjoy it, it’s a favorite around here!

[gmc_recipe 680]

Gluten Free Spicy Sugar Cookies

Over the course to the Gran Mill Wagon challenge, I have mostly been experimenting with cookies–simply because that’s my family’s go-to sweet. Since we’re cutting out gluten, it was important that I re-create our family favorites as gluten-free alternatives. We live on a very TIGHT income and simply cannot afford the expensive gluten-free flour options from the grocery store. So that’s why I was so thankful to receive the Wonder Mill grain mill. It’s not only one of the best grain mills I’ve ever used, but it has literally saved us a TON of money! Instead of having to purchase expensive gluten-free flours and products from the grocery store, I am now able to make my own! I’ve been experimenting mostly with rice flour and I can buy the organic brown rice MUCH cheaper than the organic brown rice flour. It simply makes more sense (and cents!) to grind your own!

Over the course of this challenge, I’ve used home ground rice flour the most. I’ve used it in my Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies, my Raisin Spice Cookies, and my Chocolate Cookies with great success. My family has adapted to the rice flour very well.  I’m pleased with that, because it’s saving me money and allowing us to eat more gluten-free without breaking the bank.

This recipe for my Spicy Sugar Cookies is the latest recipe that I’ve adapted to gluten-free with rice flour.  These turned out really flavorful and crunchy. I was hoping for a softer cookie, but these turned out really well anyway. The fellas ate them all up quickly, so they must have been okay.

[gmc_recipe 662]